Susumu Ishii

Susumu Ishii (石井 進 "Ishii Susumu"; 1924 - 1991) a.k.a. 石井 隆匡 was the second "kaicho" (Godfather) of the Inagawa-kai yakuza gang in Japan. He was also 5th "socho" of the Yokosuka-ikka.

Ishii was born in Yokosuka in 1924. In World War II, he was assigned to a kaiten unit of the Japanese Navy but never got the chance to die in a suicide attack. After the war, he became a yakuza and joined the Inagawa-kai in 1958. He rose to the number two position in that gang, but was imprisoned for a gambling scam from 1978-1984.

He was released from prison at the start of Japan's Bubble economy. Through various loans, banking deals, and real estate scams, he accumulated assets of over $1.5 billion which he invested in projects around the world, including in Korea and the United States. In 1989, his group even hired Prescott Bush, George H. W. Bush's brother, as an advisor (Bush denies knowing his clients' criminal background).

But as the Japanese economic bubble burst, Ishii was no longer "the world's richest gangster". His assets and his health declined rapidly, and in September 1990 he retired as "kumicho". He was replaced by Toi Inagawa, son of the gang's original founder Kakuji Inagawa.

Ishii died on September 3, 1991. Over 5,000 people attended his funeral at the Ikegami Honmonji temple in Ōta, Tokyo.